Pokémon Center Singapore sees large crowd on 17 Jan
A large crowd gathered outside Pokémon Center Singapore — located in Jewel Changi Airport — on Friday (17 Jan) morning for the launch of a new trading card game series.
As of 9am, the crowd had already ‘spilt over’ and occupied the storefronts of neighbouring shops.
Source: Newez on Reddit
Fans queue outside Pokémon Center Singapore from previous night
Speaking to MS News, TikTok user @sgpokegod claimed that some fans started queueing from as early as 9pm the night before.
Another user claimed there wasn’t any “official queue” despite the size of the crowd.
At about 9.45am on Friday (17 Jan), it was announced that the card launch was cancelled due to “safety reasons”. Fans were instead advised to purchase the new card series via the Pokémon Store on Shopee.
Police officers were seen holding up signs informing fans about the cancellation.
Source: @sgpokegod on TikTok
However, the newly-released merchandise was reportedly sold out within a minute on Shopee.
Image courtesy of MS News reader
“Definitely disappointed, but many of us expected it to be like this. Not an uncommon thing,” said the TikTok user.
At 11.25am, Pokémon Singapore issued a statement on social media, saying the new series will not be sold at Pokémon Center Singapore over the upcoming weekend.
It remains unclear when in-store sales for the new series will resume.
Fans queueing for rare Umbreon card reportedly worth S$18K
According to the official Pokémon Singapore account on Instagram, the Prismatic Evolutions trading card series was set to launch at Pokémon Center Singapore and on the Pokemon Store Shopee Singapore at 10am on Friday (17 Jan).
In the post, Pokémon Singapore stated that overnight queueing was not allowed. It also warned that “any queue formed that is not managed by Pokémon Center Singapore will not be acknowledged and dispersed”.
As for the reason behind the craze, TikTok user sgpokegod said fans were queuing for the Prismatic Evolution Elite Trainer Box (ETB)
Fans who purchase the ETB stand a chance of getting a special Umbreon card that’s reportedly worth S$18,000.
Source: @sgpokegod on TikTok
Also read: Probation for 23-year-old who stole more than S$480 worth of Pokemon cards
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Featured image adapted from @sgpokegod on TikTok
